The Slave Trade
by Inu Junkie
Summary: The Slave Trade is a place where slaves are beaten and made to think their masters are horrible and will beat them if they do not obey every commandwhich almost all master will. But what happens when Kagome gets Inuyasha as a gift? AU InuKag.
1. The Gift

I absolutely had to write this story. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in 3 days because ideas for this story wouldn't leave me alone. So here it is.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters in this story. And I never will…Unless that take over the world plan I've been working on really works.

The Slave Trade

The Gift

"I, Kagome Higurashi, swear to protect, to help, and to do everything in my power for my people. I swear to put my people before everything else and to rule wise and justly. I swear to treat all equally, from the highest ranking soldier to the lowest peasant on the streets. I swear all that I am to my people."

Inside the castle that her mother and father were once the leaders of the Northern Lands, Kagome was becoming ruler. The castle itself was very beautiful; it had the most expensive tapestries hanging in every room. Actually, everything in the castle was the most expensive of its kind. Luscious red carpets and the finest wooden floors, it was made of light gray bricks, so as not to look to gloomy but still provide protection.

But what was far greater than the castle were the guests that were watching Kagome accept her title. Lord Miroku and Lady Sango, rulers of the Eastern Lands. Lord Naraku and Lady Kikyo, rulers of the Southern Lands. Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Rin, rulers of the Western Lands. These were the most important of the hundreds of guests that were there.

"Kagome Higurashi, you are now the ruler of the Northern Lands, may Kami-sama bless and protect you," the old priest said and moved out of the way. As soon as he had left two servants took his place. One had a rather large scroll and the other a several barrels of gold, jewelry, and many other things.

The servant with the scroll unraveled it and started to say each of the guest's names and what gift they brought for the new queen. At each name the servant with the barrels would give Kagome the said gift and she would lift it up and thank whoever gave it to her. In other words it was very long and very boring.

"So what did you bring her?" Sango asked Rin when they were almost half way done with the gifts.

"I got her a fox demon kit, the poor thing was at the Slave Trade and I could tell he was just perfect for Kagome," Rin happily replied. As soon as she had finished her name was called.

"Thank you so very much Lady Rin, he is adorable," Kagome said from where she was seated on her throne, with the kit sitting on the ground next to her. Rin smiled from where she was at in the large room.

"What did you get her," Rin asked Sango when Kagome turned to thank the next guest.

"I got her a magic arrow," Sango replied, thoroughly proud of her gift, " I know that Kagome is an archer so I got her an arrow that never breaks, always hits it's target, and returns to her after she shoots it."

"I gave her my father's old sword," Sesshomaru said appearing next to Rin.

"You gave her Tetsusaiga!" Rin exclaimed, surprised he had given Kagome one of his greatest treasures.

"I just realized that it was not going to work for me and it was of no use sitting in a glass case at home," Sesshomaru replied, acting as if the sword never mattered to him in the first place.

"What did you get Kagome, Miroku?" Rin asked as said man walked towards the group.

"Probably something perverted," Sango mumbled under her breath.

"Actually I got her some holy beads that belonged to my grandfather, they are supposed to keep evil spirits away," Miroku said apparently hearing Sango's comment, "But I could give her something perverted if you really want me to."

Sango opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it when a hush went around the room. When Naraku's name had been called he had walked straight to Kagome.

"I personally wanted to give you my gift. It is a case of solid gold with the rarest of gems on it. It is made to hold the Shikon no Tama," Naraku said staring hungrily at the jewel around her neck.

Kagome shivered at his evil aura and swallowed the rather large lump in her throat. "Thank you Lord Naraku it is beautiful."

"I also wanted to give you my gift in person," Kikyo stated coldly as she walked up to Kagome and pulled a letter out of her yukata, "You can thank me now but do not read it until the celebration is over and you are alone."

"Thank you Lady Kikyo," Kagome said as she took the letter and looked at it curiously before putting it in her own yukata.

A couple hours later the gifts were done and most of the guests were sent home. Kagome quickly got off her throne and walked to where Sango, Rin, Miroku, and Sesshomaru were all standing.

"I have never been so glad that a party was over in my entire life," Kagome admitted when she got to her friends, "That was one of the most boring things ever! If I see one more bit of gold I swear I will scream."

"Not all of us gave you gold ya know. Some of us were being creative," Sango said.

"I practically cried with relief when I got to all of your gifts. All of them were fantastic!" Kagome said with genuine happiness.

"That reminds me," Kagome trailed off as she went back to her throne and picked up a small demon and walked back to the group, "This is Shippo," Kagome said holding out Rin's gift, "but he won't tell me anything other than his name, do any of you know how I can get him to talk?"

"Rin got him at the Slave Trade and he is trained to obey all his master's commands without question," Sesshomaru said emotionlessly, "They beat all the slaves and brainwash them into thinking all master's are horrible and beat them if they do anything wrong or beat them for fun. The slaves I get from there take months to get used to me and realize that we won't hurt them, sometimes it takes years. But since he is a child it probably won't take as long."

"Thank you, Sesshomaru," Kagome cheerfully thanked him, "But if you will all excuse me I think I will be going to bed now. It has been a long day and I'm extremely tired."

"We should get to bed too," Sesshomaru said and started following a servant that had come to show them their rooms.

"And thank you for letting us stay here for a while," Rin said as she followed Sesshomaru down the hall.

"Come Sango, will you join me in sleep," Miroku said as he put his arm around her waist.

"If you get your hand away from my butt," Sango said as she grabbed said hand and twisted it painfully.

"Whatever you say, my dear," Miroku muttered, nursing is injured hand and followed his wife.

Kagome walked to Shippo's room carrying the kit the whole way.

"Shippo, I know that you're not comfortable around me, but I promise that I will never harm a hair on your head," Kagome said and held the kit close, "Good-night Shippo."

He went into his room and shut the door without a word.

'Oh well, maybe next time,' Kagome thought optimistically. Kagome walked through the winding corridors and many doors before reaching her room. But just before she opened the door, she remembered something. She reached into her yukata and pulled out the letter Kikyo gave her and started to read it.

Dear Lady Kagome,

For your gift I have bought you a pleasure toy from the Slave Trade. He is a virgin Inu hanyou; we wouldn't want the ruler of the Northern Lands to have a used toy now would we? But fear not, for he has been trained for 5 years and knows every way possible to bring you pleasure. He also knows how to protect you and be a normal servant if you wish him to be. Have fun with your gift.

Sincerely,

Lady Kikyo

Kagome's face was so red that a tomato would look jealous when she finished reading the letter. But when she opened the door to her room her face took an even darker shade of red than she thought possible.

Her room had white walls and a large bed that held light blue silk sheets and silk blankets, which were warmer than you would think. She had a vanity mirror that had her jewelry and the small amount of make-up that she owned. Also in her room was a very large closet which held all of her clothes and shoes, which she had a lot of.

But more importantly next to her bed stood the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her entire life and all he was wearing was a pair of red hakama. He had silvery-white hair that went down to his back; he had a perfect tan that suggested he spent a lot of time outdoors. He had large muscles but not to large like some men she knew and had a pair of the cutest white doggy ears on the top of his head. He was perfect.

Except for those beautiful golden-amber eyes of his, they held a look that said he had once been wild and free but he had been tamed some years ago. She could see the wild part of him trying to break free of the chains that bound him. Right then she decided that she would help him.

"My name is Inuyasha, master," the perfect boy known as Inuyasha said in a voice that held no emotion.

Kagome winced at the title he had given her. "Please don't call me master, call me Kagome."

"Whatever you say, Kagome."

"Umm, you can sit on the bed while I get on my night gown." Kagome suggested and walked to her large closet.

When she came out she was wearing a dark blue silk nightgown that showed off all of her curves and went to just above her knees. It made her pale skin look as if she was glowing and made her hair look as black as night.

Giggling Kagome twirled in front of Inuyasha. "How do I look, and be honest."

"You look great, Kagome," Inuyasha said without the barest hint of emotion.

Kagome frowned at his lack of emotion and walked up to him determined to get some kind of response.

Inuyasha watched her walk up to him with a frown and he immediately started to panic, thinking that he had done something wrong and she was going to shock him.

"I am sorry, Kagome, please do not shock me," Inuyasha said his fear showing on his face.

"You didn't do anything wrong so you don't need to apologize, and what do you mean shock you?" Kagome asked confused at the term.

"The rosary around my neck gives me an electric shock whenever I cannot see you or when I do something wrong and you need to punish me," Inuyasha said pitifully.

"Oh Inuyasha, I will never ever hurt you, so you don't need to worry about that. But I wasn't around you all day, were you shocked then?"

"No, it was activated when you walked into the room."

'Well I guess he can't have his own room now," Kagome thought, 'and I can't take the rosary off of him because that would be rejecting Kikyo's gift and our lands would go to war. Which I really don't need.'

"Is something wrong Kagome?" Inuyasha asked watching the emotions play on her face.

"No I was just thinking that I don't know where you can sleep. We don't have any futons and you have to be able to see me, which means you will have to stay in my room."

"Do not worry about that I can sleep on the floor," Inuyasha said in a slightly depressed voice, not really wanting to sleep on the cold hard wood floor.

"Oh no! I would never make you sleep on the floor, you will just have to sleep in my bed with me," Kagome stated it not really bothering her. But upon hearing those words Inuyasha tensed up. He couldn't help it, yeah Kagome was beautiful and so far she was kind, but he didn't want to be some toy and Kagome could become violent later on, just like they told him.

Kagome who had not noticed how he tensed up crawled into bed and lay on one side, and told Inuyasha to get on the other. She blew out the candles next to the bed and immediately fell asleep. Inuyasha on the other hand lay as stiff as a board, weren't they going to have sex? Inuyasha lay like that until some hours later he fell into a sleep full of nightmares.

He was back at the Slave Trade and they were punishing him, he had knocked over a pot and it had broken. So they were shocking him for every piece of broken pottery they found.

He was a little boy, back when he was a pup. They had just killed his father and they were after him and his mother. They were running as fast as they could in the forest, but she tripped and fell, telling him to hide in the forest, that she was fine and would find him. That was the last time he had seen his mother.

He was seventeen and the Slave Trade was trying to catch him. He was running as fast as he could but they had caught him, they always caught whatever they were hunting.

He had tried to escape the Slave Trade again, this was the third time this month. But they had caught him, they always did, and the beating would be worse than before.

A gentle voice was calling to him, telling him to wake up. He was being lightly shaken.

"Huh," Inuyasha managed to say.

"You were having a nightmare," Kagome said relived that he had woken up, "Are you ok?"

"I'm sorry I woke you up Kagome. It will not happen again," Inuyasha said his voice trembling from the nightmares.

"It's ok Inuyasha. I want to let you know that I will not treat you like a slave or a servant. It's ok if you make mistakes or if you don't do what I tell you. I want you to be yourself. But for now it's the middle of the night and you should go back to sleep," Kagome said softly. Inuyasha nodded and they went to separate sides of the bed.

About an hour later Kagome rolled over and spooned against Inuyasha, laying her hand on his chest.

Inuyasha, who didn't need much sleep being a hanyou, slowly turned and put his face in the curve of her neck. He lightly sniffed and then pulled his face away. Yep, he had been right, wildflowers and jasmine.

Inuyasha fell into a dreamless sleep.

I thought that was fairly good.

Please review and tell me if you like it or not.

Inu Junkie


	2. Adjusting

I am soooooooo sorry!

I haven't updated for a long time. But it's not my fault, my computer blew up a C.D. and the computer people wouldn't let us turn on the computer until they fixed it.

And by the time they fixed it I went to California for two weeks, and when I came back I had to set up the surprise birthday party for my sister.

But now I am done and can update, until tomorrow when soccer and volleyball practices start, and school starts on the 24th.

But I will find time to update!

I want to thank all of you for the reviews! I feel so loved.

ditchertypepersonBUM- If she took the collar off he would probably run away, and Kikyo wouldn't like that. Also it has a role in the story and it has to be there.

RedHerring- Thank you so much for the advice, as you may notice I have just started writing, and I need all the advice I can get.

SkyMaster- Don't worry, I will finish this story. I hate it when people start stories and don't finish them.

Shadow Within- Miroku and Sango are married but they married out of duty so they don't love each other….not yet anyway. Mwahaha! The same for Naraku and Kikyo, and Sesshomaru and Rin. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Disclaimer- If I owned Inuyasha, Kikyo would be given to Sesshomaru where he would kill her, then bring her back to life, and kill her again, then repeat the process over and over and over again. But since that hasn't happened its proof that I don't own Inuyasha. Because I don't, so don't sue.

Here it is.

The Slave Trade

Adjusting

She was warm. Warmer than she had been in months. When her parents were murdered she could never fall asleep and when she did she was always cold. But this warmth was strange, it was if it was alive, and breathing, and…in…her…arms.

Kagome's eyes shot open and she let out a blood-curling shriek. Someone was in her bed with her!

Immediately a small army of guards were in her bedroom and had the man off of her bed and on the floor. Where about 5 or 6 guards were holding him down and putting shackles on his wrists.

"Wait, stop!" Kagome exclaimed remembering her gift from Kikyo and how he had to sleep with her last night.

"Let him go, he is, um, a guest," Kagome said lamely, not wanting to explain to the guards. The guards reluctantly let Inuyasha go and left the room.

"That's one way to wake up," Kagome joked in an attempt to make conversation. Inuyasha made no response and continued to lie on the floor.

"Inuyasha, are you o.k.," Kagome cautiously knelt next to him and shook his shoulder a bit, in an attempt to wake him of the stupor he had fallen into. As soon as her hand touched his shoulder his eyes shot open. Kagome gasped, his eyes were their normal amazing golden color, but they seemed darker, and more violent.

"I am sorry Lady Kagome," Inuyasha said, his eyes losing the intensity they had.

"Inuyasha, you don't have to apologize, it was my fault. I had forgotten you were sleeping with me," Kagome said softly. "But that reminds me!" Kagome exclaimed, slipping back into her normal cheerful attitude, "I have to ask one of the maids to bring in a futon for you, or would you like a bed instead? We got them from the west, they are quite comfortable."

"Whatever you want me to have Kagome," Inuyasha said still lying on the floor. That had been close; he had almost attacked those guards. He needed to calm down.

'Happy thoughts, happy thoughts,' Inuyasha mentally chanted. To bad he couldn't think of any.

'OK, new plan,' Inuyasha thought desperately, 'Breath in, breath out. Deep breaths.'

"Tell me what you want and don't say you want what I want," Kagome said trying to be patient with him.

"I would like one of those," Inuyasha said standing up and cautiously pointing to Kagome's bed.

Kagome could have jumped around the room singing she was so happy. He finally chose something by himself!

"What color do you want the sheets and blankets to be?" she asked with a huge grin on her face.

"Whatever color you want them to be," Inuyasha said monotonously.

Kagome's grin fell from her face. She just had a breakthrough with him! Now she was at the beginning once again.

"Tell me what you want," Kagome said through clenched teeth, her right eye twitching.

Before he could say anything a maid came in, to tell them that breakfast was ready.

"I haven't even gotten dressed yet!" Kagome exclaimed and rushed into her huge closet. It took her about 2 minutes to get dressed, she wore a light blue kimono that had silver stars on it. Then she walked over to a door next to her bed that hadn't been there before. When she came out she was wearing the Shikon no Tama and the door had vanished.

"When I go to sleep I have to put the jewel in that room so no one can get to it, the room is protected by a barrier I put around it" Kagome said seeing Inuyasha's confused face, "But I can only keep it in there during the night, I don't have enough power to keep the barrier up all day. I am a miko with limits."

"Well, I'm dressed but, I don't have anything for you to wear Inuyasha," Kagome said sadly.

"I am comfortable in what I am wearing now, Kagome," Inuyasha said looking down at his red pants.

"But you don't have a shirt on," Kagome had just noticed this and turned an interesting shade of red.

"I do have an inner and outer haori with these pants, but I was instructed not to wear them last night. They were placed underneath your bed," Inuyasha stated staring at her blush.

This girl blushed a lot.

"Um, well, could you put them on so we could go to breakfast?" Kagome asked staring at the floor. Why did she keep blushing? She was a grown woman, not a teenage girl with a crush.

"Yes Kagome," Inuyasha said his face blank of any emotion.

"Well we better get going," Kagome said after Inuyasha had put on his shirts.

Inuyasha followed Kagome down the many twists and turns that were in the castle, mentally creating a map, so as to know how to get back to Kagome's room.

After what seemed like hours of the two walking in silence, they entered a huge room with one large rectangular oak table in the center of the room. Sitting at the table were four people, all of them in clothing that said they were royalty.

"Sango, Rin, Miroku, Sesshomaru, you all slept well I hope," Kagome said in her cheerful mode.

"Yes, we did," Miroku said suggestively leaning towards Sango, who pushed his face in his bowl of oatmeal.

"Take that stupid lecher," Sango said smiling at her handy work.

"This oatmeal is delicious," Miroku said from his bowl, unfazed that his breakfast was in his nose.

Inuyasha just stared, these were the most important people in the country and they were laughing and acting like children. Except for that one with the white hair who just sat there looking bored. There was something familiar about him, but no matter how hard he tried Inuyasha couldn't think of what.

"Inuyasha, would you like to have breakfast with us," Inuyasha was brought out of his pondering by Kagome's voice. By the look on his face it was as if she had told him that he had just won the Miss America contest.

Inuyasha slowly walked forward until he was standing next to Kagome's chair.

"Have a seat," Kagome said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Inuyasha lowered himself on the seat next to Kagome. This was so wrong; it was against every law of nature. He was the slave, she was the master. He shouldn't be sitting here eating breakfast with the rulers of the country, if anything he should be on the ground on his hands and knees licking Kagome's feet.

"Kagome who is this guy," Rin asked pointedly staring at the man's silver-white hair that reminded her of her husband's.

"Oh, this is Inuyasha, my, uh, present from Kikyo," Kagome said feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Let me guess, the Slave Trade," Sango said seeing how Inuyasha sat perfectly straight and wouldn't look any one in the eye.

"Yep," Kagome replied staring at the hanyou with concern.

That's when she noticed Sesshomaru staring at Inuyasha intently, but before he could say anything Shippo walked into the room.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast Shippo?" Kagome asked softly, as if she was afraid to scare him off.

Shippo just walked up to the table and plopped down on one of the many seats surrounding it.

"Shippo, would you like another chair?" Kagome asked the top of Shippo's head.

The kitsune made no movement; in fact he wasn't even acknowledging her.

"Kaede, could you please get Shippo a taller chair?" Kagome asked the head maid, who was more like a grandmother to Kagome then a servant. She had been in the castle since her father went into power, maybe even before then.

"Thank you Kaede," Kagome said when the old woman came in with the chair.

"Ye welcome child. If ye need anything else just ask," Kaede said in a voice filled with wisdom and motherly love.

The old woman put the new chair at the table and left the room. Shippo quickly got out of the old chair and sat in the new one.

"Take anything that you want, you too Inuyasha," Kagome told the now visible Shippo before turning to Inuyasha.

Shippo quickly pulled a plate of pancakes toward him, while Inuyasha took a bowl of oatmeal.

"I know what you did," Shippo whispered in a voice so only Inuyasha could hear.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked in the same voice, while shoveling oatmeal into his mouth.

"The last time you tried to run away at the Slave Trade, to the people who…punished you," Shippo replied.

At hearing these words Inuyasha spat out the oatmeal he had been eating, causing it to land on the person next to him, Kagome.

Inuyasha merely stared at Kagome, not able to say anything.

"Inuyasha," Kagome asked filled with concern, "are you o.k.?"

"NO!" He shouted, "YOUR TOO NICE! I JUST SPAT OATMEAL ALL OVER YOU, I KEEP MAKING MISTAKES! WHY WON'T YOU HURT ME! YOUR TREATING ME AS IF I'M YOUR EQUAL! I'M NOT, I'M A FUCKING SLAVE! YOU'RE A QUEEN! AND I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT TO THOSE MEN!" He started out yelling at Kagome but turned to Shippo on the last sentence.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry if you don't like the way I treat you. But you _are_ my equal, I don't care what they say at the Slave Trade, I will treat you as an equal," Kagome said a little stunned at his outburst.

Then as an after thought, "What men and what did you do to them?" she asked innocently.

Inuyasha paled and ran out of the room.

Everyone sat stunned before Kagome quickly shot out of her chair and ran out of the room following Inuyasha.

After she left the room was filled with a very uncomfortable silence, which was quickly interrupted by the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a shout of "HENTAI!"

Sango stormed out of the room with a very angry expression, leaving a dazed Miroku on the floor.

"Come on Sesshomaru," giggled Rin, "let's go get Sango."

Sesshomaru gave her a look that said 'You've got to be kidding me.'

He received a look that said 'Get over here now or else.'

With a sigh Sesshomaru obediently followed his wife through the doors.

Miroku lifted himself off the floor and sat back at the table acting as if nothing had happened.

"Would you pass the pancakes," Miroku asked Shippo, who was seeing how many pancakes he could eat before he exploded. Shippo shook his head and kept stuffing pancakes in his mouth.

Miroku sighed and grabbed an apple which he started to chomp on.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted as she ran down the many halls towards her room, she guessed that was where he was since he didn't know where anything else was.

When she got to her room she was greeted by a ball of red and silver which was shaking on her bed.

"Inuyasha!" she cried rushing towards him.

"Kag…ome…it …hurts…" he said softly before passing out.

He woke up to a bright light in his face and he could faintly hear the voices of Kagome and Kaede.

"…the collar," he heard Kaede say.

"He did tell me that if he couldn't see me he would be shocked, but I didn't know how powerful it would be."

"The pain is he is feeling is like holding 50 electric eels underwater." (AN: No I don't know how that feels so don't ask. Just pretend that it would kill a human.)

"Oh my God! That's horrible!"

"Yes it is, so I suggest that ye don't let him out of ye sight."

"Don't worry Kaede, I won't."

"Kagome he is awake now," a female voice that Inuyasha did not know said.

Kagome then came into his vision.

"Where am I?" he asked, his mouth feeling like it was full of cotton.

"You're on my bed, after you passed out I called Kaede and our nurse Eri," Kagome said pointing to Kaede and a short girl black hair, "Inuyasha, are you alright."

Inuyasha just turned his head away and didn't respond to the question. The truth was that he wasn't alright; it felt as if he had been beaten to an inch of his life. Even the Slave Trade didn't hurt him like this.

Kagome sighed and walked to the other side of the room where she started to talk to Kaede before asking her to leave along with Eri.

Now they were all alone and Inuyasha had a feeling that they were in for a long, long talk.

IT IS COMPLETED!

And for the record Inuyasha doesn't have to literally see Kagome he just has to be in her presence, like in the same room.

Until the next time, review!

Inu Junkie


	3. Kouga's Appearance

I am alive!

Sorry! I'm the world's worst updater! But I will try to be better! But in my defense, I have been busy, but I will spare you from my whining and get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and I never will…..unless I kidnap Rumiko Takahashi and take her place. shifty eyes

Engelina--- I tried, I really did! But for some unknown reason I can't post my story on adultfanfiction. Sorry! It won't even let me read stories from AFF!

The Slave Trade

Kouga's Appearance

Inuyasha lay quietly on top of Kagome's bed, staring at the ceiling. It's funny how you never notice how interesting a ceiling is until you try avoiding conversation with someone. But apparently Kagome didn't notice that he had no desire to talk, because she continued to sit in a small chair next to the bed and stare at him.

He could feel her gaze burning into the side of his face. What would she say to him? Would she yell at him? Force him to talk to her? Force him to do… other things? Inuyasha gave an involuntary shudder.

"Are you cold," Kagome asked tilting her head to the side in a way that Inuyasha found slightly… cute.

Something was extremely wrong with him today. He couldn't help thinking she looked, well, rather pretty. The way her ebony hair surrounded her face, contrasting greatly with the creamy pale skin that was utterly flawless. How her beautiful blue eyes, which found his own and held him captive, were filled with concern, for him. How her firm breasts moved with each breath that filled her pink supple lips. How her small waist flared out to her hips, and her long legs that were perfect for wrapping around someone's waist.

Maybe even, _his_ waist.

It was funny; he never noticed what amazing curves she had until this moment. That was when he realized he was staring at her. He stopped breathing and slowly looked up from her flat stomach to look at her face, praying to every god he knew that she hadn't noticed his appreciative gaze.

She had.

Her face was a deep crimson that matched his haori and made his own face burn with shame. For a full minute they just stared at each other, neither of them so much as blinking.

"Well," Kagome said awkwardly.

"I am sorry for staring, Lady Kagome, I-"

Inuyasha was abruptly cut off by Kagome's voice.

"That's just it! That's exactly why we need to have this talk. No more Lady Kagome, please just call me Kagome. And you don't have to be so polite, just act the way you would if you weren't a slave."

"I can't La- Kagome," he said after a moment's hesitation, "I have been a slave for a long time and don't know how else to act."

Kagome paused. How would she be able to explain his personality to him, when she didn't know what it was?

"Well, when you act a certain way you can just feel if it's right or not. Take Miroku for example, he's a pervert; he knows he's a pervert, and he's happy to be a pervert."

Inuyasha eye's widened and he gaped at her. She just insulted one of the country's leaders! That could lead to a war between them!

Kagome chuckled at Inuyasha's expression.

"Inuyasha, Miroku and I are friends, he won't mind if I call him a pervert or anything else, and if he does mind he'll let me know."

Inuyasha inwardly smiled a small sad smile. Friends, he had never had a friend before, he would give anything to have one. But no one could care for a dirty, filthy, hanyou slave like him

"I would be your friend Inuyasha, but how can I grow to care for you as a friend when you don't even know who you are. It doesn't matter to me that you're a slave, but it bothers me that you don't have opinions or likes or dislikes. To be a friend you have to be more open with me," Kagome stated as if reading his mind.

Inuyasha smiled, not one of those fake smiles, or a smile that he kept inside, but a smile the whole world could see if it just cared to look.

Seeing his smile caused Kagome to widely grin. He had a breakthrough, now he would be more open and caring and he would smile and laugh and be happy and-

Kagome's thoughts were cut off when Sango came bursting through the door, causing Inuyasha's smile to fall off his face and to bow his head so he was looking at the floor.

Kagome sighed, well there goes my breakthrough.

"What is it Sango," Kagome asked, slightly disappointed that her time with Inuyasha had been cut short.

"There is a man here who refuses to leave until you see him," Sango replied breathlessly, as if she had run the entire way there.

"Did he say his name?" Kagome asked after letting Sango slightly catch her breath.

"He said his name was Kouga."

Kagome hurriedly ran down the steps that led to the main entry hall, with Inuyasha following right behind her. She walked to the oak doors that led outside, her shoes clicking with every step on the polished wood floor.

As she reached the main entry doors, she hesitated before slowly opening the doors and walking outside.

"Kagome!" Was immediately heard as she walked down the stone steps to see a young man with several other men behind him.

The young man had black hair, which was currently tied in a high ponytail with his ruffled bangs just above his icy blue eyes. He wore brown fur and armor, and had a brown tail which reached to the back of his knees.

"Kagome," Kouga once again shouted as she reached the bottom step and strode towards him, "you are looking more beautiful than the last time I saw you, if that is possible."

Inuyasha quietly growled, how dare this dirty wolf callKagome beautiful, that right should be reserved for him and him alone.

Wait, did that mean that he thought Kagome was beautiful?

'No, she is attractive, but not beautiful,' he thought

'Yes she is, just admit it,' a voice inside his head told him.

'No'

'Yes'

'NO!'

'YES!'

'NO!'

'You do realize you are arguing with yourself don't you'

'….'

'Yeah, that's what I thought'

'Shut up'

With that Inuyasha ended the conversation with himself and watched as Kagome smiled nervously.

"Kouga, what are you doing here?" Kagome asked, her eye slightly twitching. She Kouga was nice and all, but he could go a little overboard with the compliments.

"I just wanted to see how my woman was doing." And that, he went waaay overboard with that.

Kagome chuckled nervously, "Kouga, we have been though this; I am not your woman."

"Yeah, so back off shit-for-brains," Inuyasha growled out, suddenly appearing beside Kagome.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha in amazement at his sudden display of aggression.

"And who are you," Kouga sniffed the air slightly and made a face of disgust, "you smell like dog shit."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed to slits in clear annoyance and took a threatening step towards the wolf youkai, "Well you look like dog shit!"

"This coming from the guy whose face sends children screaming?" yelled an outraged Kouga.

"Wolf shit!"

"Dog shit!"

"Boys!" a wide-eyed Kagome shouted, "Stop fighting, you're acting like children!"

By now the men were right in each other's face barking insults at one another, but upon hearing Kagome's voice they quickly pulled apart and bowed their heads in shame.

"Now, what was so important that you had to come and see me Kouga?" Kagome asked with slight annoyance.

"Oh, yeah, that," Kouga said as a serious expression came over him, "maybe we should discuss this inside, with the other Lords and Ladies present as well."

A short time later, Kagome, Inuyasha, Kouga, Sango, Miroku, Rin, and Sesshomaru found themselves in the conference room of Kagome's home.

The conference room consisted of a long wooden table that could seat about 100 people comfortably. The chairs were made of a fine wood with dark red velvet on the front where the person put their back. There were several large windows with dark red drapes pulled up so the garden was visible through them.

Kagome sat on the end of the table with Inuyasha to her right and Kouga to her left. Next to Kouga sat Miroku with Sango on his other side. Next to Inuyasha, Rin sat with Sesshomaru at her side.

"Now that everyone is here and accounted for, what do you need to tell us Kouga?" Kagome asked the wolf.

"My pack and I were down in the Southern Lands, when one of my pack members told me he had seen some wild wolves, which we train and have join our pack. He had told me where he had seen them, and I was going to go get them, when I stumbled upon these two youkai. They seemed to be having a conference of some sort; I was planning on ignoring them, when I noticed that one was a servant of yours. So I decided to see what she was doing all the way out there."

_Flashback_

"_What have you found out, Kagura?" a figure wrapped in a black shawl asked, coldly._

"_She has a door by her bedside, that is where she keeps the Shikon no Tama when she is sleeping, but it is blocked by her miko powers," a woman with dark hair, and ruby eyes stated._

"_And when she is awake?" The dark figure asked impatiently._

"_I have yet to see her take it off," Kagura said sullenly. Until her master got the Shikon no Tama, he wouldn't release her from her duties as a slave to him._

"_But you do have everything prepared, right?" The figure asked with annoyance in his voice._

"_Of course," Kagura said with a smirk upon her blood red lips._

"_Excellent," the figure replied, pulling the shawl off and revealing his face to Kouga, "it's just a matter of time until the jewel belongs to me."_

_ End Flashback _

Kagome cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "Just who was this man?"

Kouga looked at her with hard eyes, "It was Naraku." (AN: Big shocker there huh?)

Inuyasha sat patiently as his master paced back and forth.

After Kouga had told them it was Naraku, they had all thought about what course of action to take. Should they declare war? Should they pretend they knew nothing of his plan to take the Shikon jewel, and just be careful around him? Should they confront him?

After much discussion, they had all went their separate ways, leaving the matter undecided. Kagome had then taken Inuyasha to her room rest.

Inuyasha inwardly let out a sigh, they hadn't rested yet.

"The nerve of that man!" Kagome exclaimed, "Not even 2 days ago he was at my home, where I showed him the utmost courtesy, and now he pulls this…this treason!"

Kagome continued to rant and rave, as Inuyasha discreetly scooted over to his new bed, which had been put up since they had been gone.

It looked exactly like Kagome's, which meant it had a wooden headrest, and stood, about 3 feet off the ground, except he had blood red silk sheets, in contrast to her light blue ones.

"…and of course he decided to do this just as I was gaining my title. I can see it now, he steals the Shikon no Tama, my people lose faith in my ability to rule, and he takes over!"

Inuyasha slowly lay down on his bed, trying not to gain her attention, not that it mattered. She was pretty preoccupied with her ranting.

Inuyasha's eyes slowly drifted shut, Kagome's voice, even if in an angry tone, was the perfect lullaby to the hanyou, and soon enough he was peacefully whisked away to the calming darkness of sleep.

"What do you think we should do Inuyasha?" Kagome asked the young man expecting an answer, but received nothing but silence.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome turned towards where the boy had been standing but saw no trace of said hanyou.

Panic began to overwhelm Kagome as she franticly looked around for the silver-haired teen.

She sighed with relief when she spotted him sleeping on his new bed. She quietly walked over to him.

She stared at the hanyou's face. He was so beautiful when he was sleeping, gone were the worries and stress that normally adorned his handsome face. But even so, he was beautiful when he was awake too.

Her hand absently reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from the young man's face. His skin was so soft and smooth, not one blemish or scar marked his perfect skin.

Kagome wondered if the rest of his body was this smooth.

Her face burst into flames as she thought of his naked body. Her eyes lowered in shame as the object of her affection rolled over in his sleep, so he was lying on his side facing her.

She once again reached out her hand, but this time it went to his cheek. Her hand slowly traveled down his face, going from his cheek to his nose, to his chin, and finally resting on his lips.

Unconsciously, his lips parted, revealing sharp, white fangs. Her index finger lightly touched the tip of one of them and lightly pushed on it, letting out a squeak of surprise when it drew blood. She knew that they were sharp, but not that sharp.

She was just about to pull her finger out of his mouth, when Inuyasha's wrist shot up and held her hand in place.

With his eyes still closed, he wrapped his lips around the injured finger, and began to suckle on it. His tongue lightly caressing the cut, letting his saliva heal the wound his fangs had created.

Kagome could do nothing but stare at the hanyou that held her finger prisoner to his sweet mouth.

Then, as suddenly as he had started, he stopped, and his amber eyes opened to see Kagome's blue and gray ones. For a minute they did nothing but stare at each other, until Inuyasha slowly pulled her finger from the recesses of his mouth.

Kagome's turned red all the way to the roots of her hair, and Inuyasha's ears had turned a slight pink, along with his red face.

"Um… well, I should be getting to bed, good-night," Kagome said as she all but ran to her own bed.

Inuyasha didn't reply, but pulled the covers over his body and tried to fall asleep.

Kagome, after she had changed into her nightgown and put the Shikon no Tama in its sacred room, lay staring up at the ceiling.

She couldn't disagree with the thought that she was attracted to the hanyou, who wouldn't be? He had the most gorgeous face and body she had ever seen. But she was worried about him too. He had expressed emotions today, not all of them good. She smiled slightly as she thought of his argument with Kouga. But he was still afraid of her, she could tell. How could she make that fear go away?

She clenched her hand into a fist. It was that horrible necklace, if only she could change it, make it less pai-

Kagome shot up, leaving her thoughts, and ran to the doorway.

"Kaede!" Kagome shouted out of the room, afraid to leave and hurt Inuyasha.

After a surprisingly short time, Kaede walked up to Kagome, wearing a gray nightgown.

"What do ye need at this late hour child?" Kaede asked, clearly having just woke up.

"I need a favor," Kagome asked with a mysterious smile.

"Anything you need," Kaede replied.

"I know I can't take off the necklace, but can I change its power?" Kagome asked with a mischievous smile.

"Yes, I believe ye can," Kaede said, catching on to Kagome's idea.

Inuyasha yawned loudly as he opened his eyes. He slowly blinked at the sight before him, before focusing on the woman whose face was two inches in front of his own.

"Inuyasha, I have a surprise for you," Kagome said, not moving from her position above the said hanyou.

"What would that be, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked slightly uncomfortable with the woman above him.

Instead of answering, Kagome slowly started lowering her face closer to his.

Inuyasha swallowed the lump in his throat as her saw her coming closer to him, until he could feel her warm breath on his ear.

"Sit."

…and that's a wrap!

Once again, I am sooooo sorry it took me so long to update, I will try not to let it happen again.

Until the next update.

Inu Junkie


	4. The Plan

I am soooooo sorry! I've been really really really realllllllllly busy.

And I have proof!

Inu Junkie pulls out remote control and a TV magically appears.

Take a look at this!

TV shows Inu Junkie lying on a couch eating sour cream and onion potato chips and watching reruns of cartoons

GAH! Don't look. It's not true, I've been framed!

Sees sharp pointy objects all around.

Ummmm, look! The fics starting, scroll down!

Inu terra--- Don't worry, I'm a happy ending lover too. This will most definitely have a happy ending. Or my name isn't Inu Junkie!

Disclaimer: No comment. coughI don't own Inuyashacough

The Slave Trade

The Plan

Inuyasha pulled himself off of the bed which he had been pinned on.

"What the fuck was that?" he yelled, before realizing what he had done.

"That was a gift from you to me," Kagome replied, trying not to laugh at his confused expression.

"What was it?" Inuyasha asked slightly more calm than before, which means not very much.

"I know that you are scared that I'm going to use the collar on you, so I asked Kaede to change the spell around. So whenever I say the 'S-word' you will fall to the ground. But it won't be very painful," Kagome stated, "at least, that's what Kaede told me. Does it hurt?"

Kagome was slightly worried, what if it did hurt him, what if he still feared her?

"No," Inuyasha said after a short pause, "it doesn't hurt." And with that Inuyasha released a small smile.

Kagome, thoroughly pleased with herself, smiled and walked to the bathroom to take a bath. She sighed softly as she closed the bathroom door and started removing her clothes.

The bathroom was rather large, it as made of marble and had a large marble tub at the very back.

Kagome had just submersed herself in the tub, when she heard a loud knock on the door.

"Kagome," Inuyasha's slightly pained voice was heard from outside the door, "you have gone to far away."

Kagome, with a start, reached for the nearest towel, wrapped it around her body, walked across the room, and opened the bathroom door…

…only to have Inuyasha on top of her.

"Um…Inuyasha," Kagome said hesitantly, "do you mind getting off of me?"

Inuyasha quickly jumped off of Kagome with a light pink settling over his cheeks.

"You went to far away, and it pulled me toward the door, and I couldn't move back," Inuyasha said quietly.

"I didn't go that far away though," Kagome said slightly puzzled, looking at the distance between the bathtub and the door, "it only looks about 9 or so feet."

"Water dulls your scent, and your scent is a large part of what makes your aura. When you dull your scent, your aura becomes weaker, making the distance I usually have, considerably smaller," Inuyasha replied. (AN: Don't ask.)

"Well then, what should we do?" Kagome asked innocently.

Kagome sighed in bliss as she lowered herself into the hot tub. Yesterday and today had taken a toll on her. Having her birthday, getting Inuyasha, Inuyasha freaking out, talking with Inuyasha, solving Inuyasha's problems…sort of, Kouga appearing, Naraku plotting against her, Inuyasha having to be near her all the time, not that she minded the last one…

Kagome blushed at her last thought, but didn't deny it, he_ was _nice to be around, except when he got in one of his moods, which was most of the time, so maybe he wasn't nice to be around, but he was. It was all so confusing.

Her blush disappeared as she realized something. Most of her stress had to do with Inuyasha. She glared accusingly at the oblivious hanyou, who was innocently standing as far away as he could in the large bathroom with his back turned toward her. Her eyes softened as she looked at the young man, none of this was his fault.

Kagome sighed as she mentally prepared herself for leaving the warm tub, she had to get out, she had things to do today, and…she…must…resist…temptation.

With a small grunt Kagome left the warm tub in favor of the cold air, and reached down to grab her towel…that was suddenly not there.

She franticly looked for her beloved towel, and saw it. Right behind Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha," Kagome called sweetly, not noticing the way the hanyou tensed.

"Yes Kagome," Inuyasha said in a quiet voice.

"Could you _please _bring me my towel; I accidentally dropped it behind you."

Slowly, the hanyou turned around and picked up the piece of cloth and walked over to the young woman sitting in the tub with water up to her chin. She reached out an arm and grabbed the towel, as he watched, fascinated as more flesh was exposed to his gaze. As he came to his senses, he quickly turned his back to her, hiding his red face.

Kagome quickly stood up and wrapped the towel around her body and stepped out of the tub and hurriedly walked towards the door, with Inuyasha obediently following. After leaving the bathroom, she walked into her closet to get dressed, after she went and got the Shikon no Tama from its resting place. She walked out wearing a dark blue kimono with black dragons on it.

"Inuyasha," Kagome called softly, "it's time for us to go to breakfast."

Inuyasha nodded slightly before standing up and following Kagome.

Ugh, breakfast, getting to sit in a room full of people who needed to know what she was going to do about Naraku, when she had absolutely no clue. She angrily marched down the halls with Inuyasha following her, her forgotten anger at Naraku coming back to her. 'Stupid, evil, corrupted, bastard of a man,' Kagome thought evilly, 'I'll rip him apart with my own two hands.'

Inuyasha stared wide-eyed at Kagome as she let out a diabolical laugh.

Inuyasha sighed as he took his seat next to Kagome at the breakfast table. After he made Kagome aware of the fact that she had been laughing manically, they had stopped to pick up Shippo and made their way to breakfast. But now he couldn't get the fact that Shippo knew what he had done at the Slave Trade out of his head. If the runt told Kagome about it, Inuyasha would be out of there faster than he could say "Slave Trade." The question was, should he A) suck up to the runt, B) sew his mouth shut, or C) kill him? He wasn't very good at sewing, so option B was a no, and he wasn't going to suck up to some brat, so that was a no for A. The only thing left to do was kill him. But how? He could always suffocate the kitsune, but he would put up a fight. So, he could rip him apart, but that involved a lot of blood. He could –

He was brought out of his musings by Kagome's voice.

"Shippo," Kagome said to the kitsune, "would you like to have a picnic with me this afternoon?"

The boy's emerald eyes brightened for a moment, as if he was remembering a pleasant experience long forgotten, but the spark was quickly replaced with the dull look that was normally there. He gave a small nod and returned his attention to his breakfast.

Kagome inwardly sighed as she looked at the young boy. The picnic had been a last minute thought, and a lot of people wouldn't be happy with her decision, but she wanted to talk to the kitsune alone. She glanced at Inuyasha, well, almost alone.

That's when Kagome heard the question she had been dreading.

"So Kagome," Miroku said, eager to break the silence, "what are you going to do about the Naraku problem?"

Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering in the most commanding voice she could muster, "I think we should wait to see what Naraku does next. Because if we go to war, not even a week after I became Queen, what will my people think?" Kagome continued not giving anyone a chance to interrupt, "They will think I am some blood-thirsty monster, who wants nothing more than to lead her people to their deaths." Kagome, finished with her speech, picked up an apple and continued to bite her frustrations out on it.

Sango nodded in agreement before voicing her opinion, "I agree, but we should prepare an army, so if Naraku does attack, we can at least be ready for him."

"And we should get rid of that Kagura girl, not get rid of her completely, but put her someplace she can't hear our plans but not make Naraku suspicious. Maybe put her in stable cleaning or something of the sort," Rin added.

"We should send someone to watch Naraku," Miroku said, joining the conversation, "but whom?"

Inuyasha, who had been listening to the group, spoke before he could stop himself, "You should send the wolf."

Everyone was silent after Inuyasha's recommendation and he braced himself for the insults and hatred.

Kagome was the one to break the silence, "Yes that could work. Kouga's fast and Naraku knows nothing of our friendship and Kouga would probably do it if I asked."

The six leaders discussed their plan, except for Sesshomaru who would tell them of the flaws, while Inuyasha sat, once again stunned. They had liked his idea, not only that, they accepted it. No, _dirty hanyou_, or _fucking half-breed mutt_.

Kagome turned towards him and gave the biggest, brightest smile Inuyasha had ever seen. Inuyasha smiled in return. This place might not be so bad after all.

"You want me to do what?" Kouga shouted.

"Please Kouga; you're the only one who can do this. We need you, my people need you, _I_ need you," Kagome said.

That was all he needed. Kouga grabbed Kagome and held her tightly to his chest, ignoring Inuyasha's growl.

"Oh Kagome, I will do this for you and after we have destroyed Naraku I will officially make you my mate, "Kagome announced, oblivious to Kagome's struggling and the hanyou who's eyes held a promise of death.

"Kouga, I don't think…" Kagome didn't finish as she was ripped violently from Kouga's arms.

"Kagome wouldn't mate with you if you were the last living thing on the planet," Inuyasha barked, pulling Kagome's body against his own.

Kouga laughed, "Do you think she would mate with you, a filthy hanyou, rather than me, a strong, handsome, full-blooded youkai?"

Inuyasha's ears lowered in shame and anger.

"Awww, the poor puppy, did I hurt his feelings?" Kouga said in mock sympathy.

Inuyasha released Kagome from his grasp and backed away from her. Kouga was right; such a pure being would never want someone as filthy as him.

"That's right half-breed, you don't even deserve to look at Kagome, let alone touch her," Kouga said coldly.

"That's it!" Kagome shouted, moving to stand in front of Inuyasha, as if to protect him from Kouga's glare, "What is wrong with you? Inuyasha did nothing wrong, and how dare you call him filthy. If anyone here is filthy it would be you." Her aura crackled dangerously around her, unconsciously moving toward Kouga to purify him and at the same time, moving towards Inuyasha's youki, caressing and soothing it. "I think you should leave now," Kagome said quietly and watched as the wolf youkai took off without another word.

As soon as Kouga was out of her sight, Kagome turned towards Inuyasha.

"Oh Inuyasha, I'm so sorry," Kagome whispered as she saw his head bowed in shame and his ears plastered to his skull, "Kouga had no right to say those things."

"It is all right Kagome," Inuyasha said not moving or looking at her, "Even in a time where youkai and human co-exist, a hanyou like me won't be accepted."

Kagome walked the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, "I accept you Inuyasha, we're friends remember."

Kagome looked up and gave him a warm smile, hoping she was dulling the pain that Kouga's words had caused. Kagome frowned as she though about Kouga, she would have to talk to him eventually, but she had been so furious, she wanted to let her miko powers fry him. But she couldn't, he was important to the plan.

The young miko abandoned her thoughts as she felt Inuyasha's arms encircle her small body and pull her more fully against him. She sighed and laid her head on his chest, inhaling his musky forest scent.

Jasmine and flowers invaded Inuyasha's nose as he buried his face in her midnight black hair. How could this small human be so… perfect?

Sorry about the shortness!

I promise to try to make them longer, but I'm swamped with school stuff!

But spring break is soon, and hopefully I'll get stuff done then.

Inu Junkie


	5. Carrots

SOOOOOOOOO SORRY!

But I have been in California for, it seems like, forever WITHOUT MY LAPTOP! I just got back and the first thing I did was type this.

And I have been in so many softball tournaments that I will be getting dirt out from under my nails for the rest of my life.

But you guys probably don't care about any of that, all you care about is…

A NEW CHAPTER!

WHOOOO!

Anyway, here it is, celebrate. And give me chocolate!

Disclaimer: 9 4-15 14-15-20 15-23-14 9-14-22-25-1-19-8-1. (A1, B2, C3, etc.)

And about the title, carrots really don't have anything to do with the story, I just put carrots in here a lot and thought I would give them some attention. So while your reading the chapter, see how many times I mention carrots.

The Slave Trade

Carrots

Inuyasha sighed for what seemed the hundredth time. Here he was, the son of the Great InuTaishou, going on a picnic with a kitsune and a human girl. Then again, it was sort of his fault, not that he would admit it. Kagome was going to let him sit in a tree, undisturbed, but he had to open his big mouth and tell her about how he had never been on a picnic before. So here he was, walking through a forest to participate in this god-forsaken picnic. And here comes sigh number one-hundred and one.

"Inuyasha, quit sighing," Kagome said in exasperation, "we're almost there."

Kagome was currently carrying Shippou who had stopped in the middle of the path after a few minutes of walking, which Kagome had assumed meant his feet, er, paws were hurting from the walking.

After many sighs and several 'are we there yet's', all courtesy of Inuyasha, they finally arrived at their destination.

It was beautiful. A small lake with a waterfall, flowers of all different colors, and it was surrounded by tall trees to keep away unwanted visitors. Inuyasha was surprised that, according to his nose, the only creature that had ever been here was Kagome and small forest animals.

"I put a barrier around the area when I found it," Kagome said, as if reading his mind, "I know it's selfish of me, but I wanted a place all my own. So I made sure it kept out humans, youkai, and dangerous animals."

Shippou, not caring how the place came to be as long as it was there, jumped from Kagome's arms and looked for the perfect place to put the blanket and picnic basket. With a smile, Kagome followed the boy and helped him set up the picnic at the spot he had chosen. After everything was in place and Inuyasha had, grudgingly, joined them, Kagome went in for the kill.

"So Shippou, what's your favorite color?"

Shippou looked longingly at the basket full of food before sighing and shaking his head.

"Okay, what about you Inuyasha?" Kagome said, desperate to make Shippou comfortable.

Inuyasha also glanced longingly where the food was hidden before gruffly answering, "Feh, red, I guess."

Kagome sighed, "Alright, you can eat now."

The words had barely left her mouth before the two males had attacked the basket and started to gorge themselves.

A few hours later, Kagome and Shippou found themselves lying on their backs watching the clouds roll by. Well, Kagome watched the clouds as Shippou stared aimlessly in space, lost in thought.

"Yen for your thoughts," Kagome said softly while chomping on a carrot.

Shippou merely continued to stare, not giving a response. Kagome didn't push him, but glanced worriedly at the young kitsune.

"Yo, runt," Inuyasha called from the tree trunk he was resting against, "come over here."

Shippou hesitated a moment before, seeing the fierce look upon Inuyasha's face, walking over to him.

"Listen," Inuyasha whispered when the boy reached him, "I know it's hard to believe, but Kagome is a decent master so far. I think it would be okay for you to talk to her, but never let your guard down. She's kind now, but you never know for sure." Inuyasha sighed, voicing his own concerns. He liked Kagome and prayed that this was what she was and would always be like, but you could never trust anyone. Not even yourself, as Inuyasha knew all to well.

Shippou stared at him for a minute before sitting down next to Kagome and quietly started a conversation. The smile Kagome gave him was enough reason to make him glad he talked to Shippou and make him smile in return.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha said something to Shippou and watched the young boy walk towards her.

"What is your favorite color Kagome?" Shippou asked.

Kagome looked over Shippou's head to where Inuyasha was leaning against a tree and have him the biggest, brightest smile she could muster which got even brighter when he smiled in return.

"Hmm," Kagome furrowed her brow as if thinking deeply and answered, "I think I like blue the best."

"Why?" asked Shippou, "green is so much better than blue."

"Feh, you're both wrong," Inuyasha said, appearing seemingly out of thin air, "red is the best."

"How would you know, "Shippou asked, "dogs are color blind."

"I ain't no damn dog and I can see colors perfectly fine," Inuyasha barked as his face steadily began to grow his favorite color.

Shippou scampered up Inuyasha's body until he was resting on his shoulder and peering into his face.

"I dunno, you look like a mutt to me," Shippou stated and quickly moved out of the way as Inuyasha attempted to hit him, only to hit himself in the face.

"Why you little brat!" yelled Inuyasha as Shippou jumped off his shoulder and he commenced in chasing the young boy.

Kagome smiled, she knew she should stop them, but they were showing emotion, talking, yelling, laughing, well, Shippou was laughing and Inuyasha was doing most of the yelling, but still, they were relaxed around her and that's all that really mattered.

Inuyasha had finally caught up with Shippou and was now holding him captive by his tail.

"Okay Inuyasha, it's time to put Shippou down now," Kagome said, smile still in place.

"Why should I, this brat started it, so I get to finish it," Inuyasha growled out between clenched teeth.

Kagome's smile quickly turned into a frown and her face darkened, "Inuyasha, put Shippou down now or else."

It was then Inuyasha sealed his fate, "Or else what, wench?"

"Sit." An Inuyasha met dirt.

Shippou, who had escaped Inuyasha's clutches when Kagome subdued him, burst our laughing and crawled onto Inuyasha's head.

"I thought you said you weren't a dog, Inuyasha," Shippou managed to gasp out between laughs.

Inuyasha, from his spot on the ground, merely growled.

"Okay Shippou, leave poor Inuyasha alone," with this said, she plucked Shippou off of Inuyasha's head and started placing all of their supplies back in the basket.

"Why are you putting everything away?" Shippou asked.

"Well, we've been here for a while and everyone probably forgot that I took you on a picnic, so they are probably panicking by now. So, we should go back."

By the time the three had reached the castle, they found out Kagome was one hundred percent correct. People were running around screaming Kagome's name and had apparently started a search team.

Kagome sighed as she tried to avoid the many people who were scurrying in random directions looking for her. And the one shouting orders at them, Kouga.

"Okay people, move your asses and find my woman!" Kouga shouted, "You check in the forest. What do you mean you're tired, if you have legs you search!

Beside her, Kagome heard Inuyasha huff in annoyance.

"If the wolf would use his fucking nose he would know that you're right in front of him," Inuyasha said gruffly.

Kagome was startled for a minute, but quickly gave Inuyasha a smile. Ever since they had left the barrier, both he and Shippou had become quiet and sullen. Inuyasha had been rigid as if expecting someone to jump out of the bushes and attack. Shippou had sat in her arms and regained the dull look in his eyes. Kagome assumed that they thought it was okay for them to be more… alive with her, but only in private. She smiled, it was a start.

Her musings were cut short when Kouga apparently took Inuyasha's advice and sniffed the air. With a shout of her name, Kouga was next to her in a blink of an eye and pulled her into his arms.

"Kagome, I was so worried about you. Where did you go? Never leave the grounds without someone going with you! I'm so happy you're safe. I don't know what I would do if my woman was injured."

"None of your business where she went and I was with her," Inuyasha stated as he placed himself between Kagome and Kouga.

"I meant someone able to protect her."

Inuyasha bristled at the comment, "I can protect her more than you ever could."

As they continued to argue, Kagome managed to tip-toe her way up the steps that led to the castle doors. She slowly opened one of the large wooden doors when the unthinkable happened, the door squeaked. Immediately both males' heads snapped towards the door, more specifically, the girl who was trying to escape their clutches.

"Psst, Kagome," whispered Shippou who had climbed onto Kagome's shoulder to escape Kouga's hug of doom, "I can distract them for you."

"Really Shippou? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course," and with that, Shippou pulled out a small green leaf from the recesses of his small brown vest and with a small 'poof' two identical Kagome's stood where one had been.

"What in the seven hells!" Kouga exclaimed while staring at the two Kagome's in confusion.

Suddenly, the two Kagome's started whispering to each other before one started creeping its way to the side of the castle with its back against the brick wall. It was then Kouga made his decision and ran after the one that was leaving. So focused on catching the Kagome, he never noticed the bushy tail she seemed to have acquired as she started sprinting towards the forest.

Inuyasha watched as Kouga ran after the wrong Kagome before turning his attention to the real one, who was currently slipping inside the castle.

He waited a few seconds before the now familiar pull dragged him towards the castle. He quickly opened the door, having learned from last time that being pulled into a door is painful. He found the elusive girl sitting on the steps waiting for him.

She opened her mouth to speak when a loud wail reached their ears and they both darted up the stairs towards the noise. They both stopped outside one of the many guest rooms and the origin of the shriek they heard. Inuyasha desperately wished that the collar didn't dull his senses so he could tell what lurked behind the closed door.

He pulled Kagome behind him and slowly opened the door, only to wish he hadn't. For in the room was something that chilled the hanyou to the bone.

Kagome and Rin sat comforting a crying Sango while Inuyasha leaned against the door and tried not to rip his hair out. But the noise was so aggravating, and the woman was so damn loud. He didn't know how Rin and Kagome could stand it. They were patiently asking Sango what had happened, if she wanted anything, more tissues or maybe an ice cream? All while Sango just sat there crying, and Inuyasha hated a crying woman.

"Sango, are you ready to tell us what happened?" Kagome asked when Sango had, slightly, calmed down.

"Well, I was reading a book in my room, when I heard a sound outside my door. So I opened the door and-" here Sango was forced to stop as another bout of tears erupted, before managing to calm down enough to continue, "I found Miroku flirting with one of the servants!"

Rin and Kagome exchanged a puzzled look as Sango buried her face in her hands to muffle her sobs.

"But Sango, Miroku flirts with anything that's female and walks on two legs," Rin said while rubbing the poor girl's back in a comforting matter.

Inuyasha let out a small growl, for some reason, the thought of Miroku flirting with Kagome… bugged him, to put it lightly, _very_ lightly.

Sango ignored Inuyasha's growl and managed to make a reply in between gasps and sniffles, "But this time-_sniff_-instead of beating the crap out of him I-_sniff_-decided to think about _why _I wanted to beat the crap out of him and I came to the conclusion that I-I-I'm falling in love with him!"

Kagome and Rin stared in shock as Sango once again dissolved into tears. Inuyasha didn't react at all, other than his ears, which plastered to his head in an attempt to block out the noise.

"But how, you always made it out that you hated him," Rin managed to get out.

"As soon as you were married, you made it perfectly clear that you only married him because his father was the Lord and your father was Head of Defenses and they arranged for you two to be wed and that you -"

Here Rin joined Kagome and they finished the end simultaneously, memorized by the large amount of times Sango had said this to them,

"would rather gnaw your own foot off while gouging your eyes out with carrots than touch one hair on the perverted perverts head."

"I know but, there were times when he would be sweet and caring and-and-I couldn't help but start to fall in love with him!"

"I know exactly what you mean Sango, love sneaks up behind you and before you know it _WHAM_ your head-over-heels in love with him. Even though he can be so cold to everyone, and seems to barely tolerate you, but none of that matters, because his faults are what make him the most beautiful, amazing, awe-inspiring, tall, white-haired, golden-eyed, gorgeous piece of demon that ever walked this planet," Rin finished her speech with starry eyes, before snapping back into reality to see Kagome and Sango staring at her with identical smirks on their faces.

"Since when is Miroku tall, and white-haired?"

"Or golden-eyed and a demon?"

The three girls were silent for a moment before they burst out laughing. It never ceased to amaze Inuyasha how these so-called royalty could be so... normal. How they could gossip and giggle and have normal problems, just like normal girls.

When the girls' giggle-fit died down they decided that it would be best to celebrate Sango's glorious emotion by going down to the kitchen and eating a tub of chocolate ice cream.

Kagome, Sango, and Rin pouted and put on their best puppy-face's as they stared pitifully at the greedy hanyou who was hovering protectively over his new found treasure.

"May we pretty please have a little tiny bit of ice cream Inuyasha?" Kagome begged and put in an extra lip tremble for effect.

"No, go eat a carrot or something," the hanyou growled as he threw the useless spoon over his shoulder and stuffed his whole face in the tub of ice cream.

The three girls sighed in exasperation as the listened to the sound of their precious icy treat being devoured and quickly came to the conclusion that offering Inuyasha a small taste had been a bad idea. What could be worse than getting your ice cream stolen from you?

The girls quickly found out as a servant came and told them the Lords were waiting for them in the meeting room.

Apparently having your ice cream taken away from you and then having to sit discussing war all day was worse.

When they entered the meeting room they were surprised to not only find the Lords, but Kouga and Kaede waiting as well.

"Kaede has informed Kagura that instead of working in the kitchens, she will instead be working in the gardens and Kouga has agreed to watch Naraku," Sesshoumaru said, getting straight to the point.

"Because we all know that the kitchen is where all the gossip is, and the garden is where the plant obsessed gardeners live, and they have no time for gossip," Miroku said truthfully.

"Just because the gardeners are a little… over-enthusiastic about plant life doesn't mean their obsessed," Kagome said, defending the poor gardeners.

"LIES!" Miroku declared, "Just this afternoon I was randomly attacked by one of the youkai gardeners for eating a carrot. He said that I was murdering a poor defenseless life form, and accused me of making many baby carrots fatherless! How could he tell that it was a boy! It was only a carrot! And then he manipulated the vines to tie me to a tree, if Sesshoumaru hadn't come along I'd still be there!"

"If only," Sango muttered.

"As interesting as that is," Sesshoumaru said flatly, "we have much bigger problems at hand."

"What could be more important than fatherless carrots?" asked Miroku.

"The fact that Naraku is plotting on stealing the Shikon no Tama which will result in horrific happenings and most likely him succeeding in world domination," Rin said incredulously.

"And the Slave Trade," Kagome added.

"What about it?" Sango asked.

"I want to get rid of it," Kagome said slowly.

"That's all well and good, but you can't," Miroku said seriously.

"What do you mean I can't, I rule the Northern Lands, I control the very lives of the people who live within the boundaries of it, I can surely get rid of one evil, corrupt, trade."

"But the people won't stand for it, many of them make a lot of money by selling slaves, others think that they simply can not live without a slave in there household. People simply will not except you getting rid of it," Sesshoumaru said logically, "You can't do it."

Kagome stared at him, "I can try."

That's all for now.

I am so sorry for taking so long.

But school is starting, and I have two study halls now, so I can write then. Or I can write in class and do my homework in study hall. Whatever works.

Well, until next time.

Ja ne

Inu Junkie

P.S. For all of you who were to lazy to figure out the Disclaimer and plan on suing me anyway, it says, and I quote:

I do not own Inuyasha.

Ja ne

For real this time.

Inu Junkie


End file.
